Part 3 is going to be all about tracking what you eat. There are many different ways to track your food but I want to discuss the major ones so you have a grasp on the options available.
First things first...
1 1} Food
Journal
The easiest way for you to start
tracking your food is by recording everything you eat in a journal. Although
this information is great for you to have, it would be pointless to write it
all down & not do anything with it… so there are a number of things you can
do with a food journal.
-Body Signals: Recording how your body reacts to certain foods. Does this food make you bloat? Does it make you feel full all day or hungry shortly after? Does it give you any stomach pain or digestion problems?
All of the the reflections I listed above will allow you to
see what you ate, which foods your body likes the most, keep you accountable
for making better decisions, and keeping you motivated! There are different
ways to go about journaling, but you can get a lot out of it.
I recommend this
to those of you who need the daily accountability & reminder, and for
someone who is just starting out with tracking their meals. There are so many
websites and cell phone apps that can help you track your meals, if you need a
recommendation from me, feel free to ask.
2} Calories:
Upgrading From A Basic Food Journal
Although following your intuition
and body signals is very important, for some people who do it successfully, it
isn’t enough to take off the weight they so desire to remove. One way people
attain a goal weight is by counting their caloric intake every day. They log
their foods and serving sizes by using food labels & nutrition facts, and
at the end of the day, they reach their specific calorie goal. This goal is
determined using TDEE (which I explain later, don't worry).
Why
Do Calories Even Matter?
If you don’t know this already know, Calories are just a word we use to describe energy. It just so
happens that literally everything we do requires energy! We use calories to
measure how much energy we burn daily and how much we consume.
Every day you burn a specific amount of calories just living
and breathing, this is called your Basal
Metabolic Rate (BMR). Everyone has their own rate because we all come in
different shapes and sizes. In order to figure out you BMR, you need to know
your height & weight, then you can plug that into an online calculator.
Super simple!
On top of your BMR, there is another important number known
as Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or
TDEE. This number tells you how many calories you burn daily including work,
exercise, and activity. This uses your BMR but adds to it based upon your own
job, exercise habits, and other activities you participate in. This can also be
determined with an online calculator.
Knowing these numbers is crucial for anyone trying to
seriously gain muscle, lose body fat, or even just get enough food during the
day. It is important to have a healthy energy balance (calories in vs. calories
out) as well as eating nutrient dense foods, which we will talk more about
later.
Here is the website I use to calculate BMR, TDEE, calories,
macronutrients, and more…
http://whataremymacros.com/ I found it to work really well and its super simple but there are also other websites out there that work just as well, like Katy Hearn Fit's website calculator.
http://whataremymacros.com/ I found it to work really well and its super simple but there are also other websites out there that work just as well, like Katy Hearn Fit's website calculator.
Calorie Counting: A simple way to track
Although calorie counting works for some people, there are
more approaches to fat loss & muscle gain.
You will want to choose the best approach that suits YOUR lifestyle and YOUR
needs so you can succeed! Counting energy intake can be difficult for someone
who is very busy & has a hard time staying on top food logs, while it could
be easy for someone who has more time during their day. We will discuss different
approaches to reaching our nutrition goals later.
The reason I mention Calorie Counting is because it’s one of
the simplest ways to track energy. If you generally eat a nutrient dense diet
but you want to fine tune your diet a bit more, you can use this to ultimately
lose the weight you have had trouble losing, or vice versa.
It’s pretty easy to understand.
If you want to lose excess body fat, then you will need to eat less calories than you burn each day, this is called a caloric deficit! {For example: If you burn 2000 calories a day, eating anywhere below 2000 calories is considered a caloric deficit}
Being deficient in calories is not a bad thing, it just means that at the end of the day, your energy expended is more than your energy consumed causing you too lose some excess energy... aka excess body fat (stored calories). After being consistent with a caloric deficit, the numbers on the scale will go down because when you lose calories daily, you lose overall stored energy. Let me put this in perspective... Eating 500 calories less than you expend everyday will add up to a 3500cal loss at the end of a week. 3500 calories = 1Lb body weight... resulting in a pound of weight loss.
Note: These calories are NOT for you or anyone else, this is just an example. The amount of calories you eat everyday will be based on your goals (slow fat loss vs. rapid fat loss) and your own Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
Note: These calories are NOT for you or anyone else, this is just an example. The amount of calories you eat everyday will be based on your goals (slow fat loss vs. rapid fat loss) and your own Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
On the other side of the spectrum, if you want to put on more muscle, which means growing & gaining, you will be in a caloric surplus due to the extra
calories you consume daily to grow bigger. You cannot enhance muscle size without feeding them and putting on more weight!
Eating more calories than you burn in a day will help you put on muscle & gain weight over time. Again, the amount of calories you eat daily will be based on your goals & total daily energy expenditure.
Eating more calories than you burn in a day will help you put on muscle & gain weight over time. Again, the amount of calories you eat daily will be based on your goals & total daily energy expenditure.
Let’s say you want to put on a good amount muscle mass. Your
first step would be to calculate your own TDEE and find out how many calories
you burn every day. If your goal is to gain muscle, you will want to eat more
calories than you burn!
For
example: Jenna wants to put on a few lbs of muscle over 3-4 months! She burns approx. 2000 calories each day including her job and weight lifting sessions.
If she wants to put on a few lbs (lets say 3 lbs in 3 months; 1Lb/Month) she will need to eat more than 2000 calories per day. In fact, she will need to consume an extra 117 calories/ day to gain a pound every 30 days because, like I said earlier, these calories add up and at the end of each 30 day mark, she will have ate an extra 3500 calories that month!
If she wants to put on a few lbs (lets say 3 lbs in 3 months; 1Lb/Month) she will need to eat more than 2000 calories per day. In fact, she will need to consume an extra 117 calories/ day to gain a pound every 30 days because, like I said earlier, these calories add up and at the end of each 30 day mark, she will have ate an extra 3500 calories that month!
Pretty simple right??
Now, when you know your calories in and calories out, you
can log daily and try to hit those caloric goals through exercise and eating.
But we have to remember that all calories
are NOT equal. Calories come from protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Getting
enough of each is imperative for someone who is trying to eat a well-balanced
diet, as well as wanting to look & feel good. All of these nutrients have a
different purpose in our bodies and we need them in order to function properly.
(Stay tuned for Part 4: Macronutrient Tracking)
(Stay tuned for Part 4: Macronutrient Tracking)
*note: If you struggle with eating a nutrient dense diet
with plenty of fruits & veggies, I would not advise jumping into counting
calories. Start simple and just try to eat plenty of produce, high quality
meat/proteins, and nutritious fats. (see my previous blog about intuitive eating)*
Now as much as I would love to go on and on about nutrition for hours, I want to make the next blog topic its own entity because there is so much information.
Please comment below if you have any questions or comments.
Hope you found this helpful :-)
-Chloe Ann
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